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Pentonkion
| Issuer | Mamertinoi (Sicily) |
|---|---|
| Year | 220 BC - 200 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 8.33 g |
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| Reverse description | A warrior stands facing in a frontal pose, dressed in military attire, holding a sheathed sword in one hand and an upright spear in the other, evoking the martial character of the Mamertine mercenary community. A round shield is positioned to the right of the figure in the field. The mark of value Π (representing five onkiai) appears to the right, confirming the denomination as a pentonkion. The ethnic legend MAMEΡTINΩN is inscribed in Greek characters around the figure, identifying the issuing community. The reverse composition reflects the warlike self-image of the Mamertini, the Oscan mercenaries who seized Messana circa 288 BC. |
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| Mint | Mamertini, modern-day Messina, Italy |
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| Additional information |
The Mamertinoi were Oscan-speaking mercenaries — originally hired by Agathokles of Syracuse — who seized Messana around 288 BC after their employment ended and they had nowhere to go. Their coinage, including this bronze, was struck in a city they had taken by force and held against both Carthage and Rome until opportunistically inviting Roman intervention in 264 BC, which triggered the First Punic War. By the time this pentonkion was being struck, Messana was a Roman ally and the Mamertinoi were a fading political force, their independent identity increasingly nominal.